Baghdad – Sixty kilometers from Mosul, where militias of the self-titled Islamic State destroyed books and monuments of the ancient Assyrian civilization, there is Dohuk, where archaeologists from the University of Udine are training members of the Directorate of Antiquities in the protection and promotion northern Iraqi Kurdistan’s cultural heritage. The Archaeological Museum of Dohuk, under the “Regional Nineveh Archaeological Project – PARTEN”, initiated by the University of Friuli in 2012, will host until March 20 the first set of four courses to help strengthen local expertise in the management of archaeological, cultural and natural heritage. The moment is particularly critical, as recent events show that the rich cultural heritage of the region, in the heart of ancient Mesopotamia, is seriously threatened by the expansion of the Islamic State. The “Nineveh Training Project” is funded by the Italian Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Task Force Iraq) and directed by Daniele Morandi Bonacossi, Professor of Archeology and Art History of the Ancient Near East at the University of Udine and project director for PARTEN. The training takes place via specific courses in the field of archaeological heritage, mainly related to excavation and archaeological survey methods and techniques, geoarcheology, bio-archeology and techniques related to the illustration of archaeological materials. In Dohuk, there are Marco Iamoni and Alessandro Canci, alongside specialists from other universities. (9Colonne)
